Method of making fiber drums having metal closures



June 16, 1953 H. 1.. CARPENTER 2,641,827

METHOD OF MAKING FIBER DRUMS HAVING METAL CLOSURES Filed June 16. 1949 5Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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METHOD OF MAKING FIBER DRUMS HAVING METAL CLOSURES Filed June 16, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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June 16, 1953 METHOD OF MAKING FIBER DRUMS HAVING METAL CLOSURES 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 16. 1949 fierhr/ Z. faiymzfer Patented June16, 1953 METHOD OF MAKING FIBER DRUMS HAVING METAL CLOSURES Herbert L.Carpenter, Amit'yville, N. Y., assignor to Carpenter ContainerCorporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June16, 1949, Serial N o. 99,476

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fibre drums and moreparticularly to an improved method for attaching metal heads or closuresto fibre drums.

My invention has particular application to a method of making fibredrums of thetype having a body portion in the form of a tubular shellmade of layers of fibre, such as kraft paper, laminated together bymeans of adhesives. Attempts have heretofore been made to attach metalheads or closures to such fibre bodies or shells by a spinningoperation. However, in order to do so withoutsplitting or breaking thefibre it has been proposed that the lamination should be freelyseparated into their several layers before spinning the metal head inplace. This proposal, of course, resulted in weakening the shell or bodywall at one of the most critical points and in destroying the unitarycharacter of the shell.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the prior difficulties andto provide an improved container in the form of a fibre shell having ametal head and a method of making the same wherein the shell wall is ofunitary and cohesive construction, free from separation into its severalI laminations, and in which the metal head is firmly secured in place byan interlocked seamed or beaded connection.

A further object is'the provision of an improved fibre drum and methodof making the same which is of sturdy constructiomwhich can be readilymade in watertight or airtight form, which is relatively inexpensive tomanufacture and which is subject to mass production methods. Myinvention contemplates providing a laminated fibre shell in workable ormoldable condition, molding the end portion thereof into an outwardlyflared flange and, while still in work-,

able or moldable condition, interlocking the flared withthe beading ofthe metal head or closure;

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional View ofthe lower portion of a fibre container or drum having a metal head orclosure secured thereto in accordance with my invention;

around a rotatable mandrel 2 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fibreshell in the process of being formed from a web of kraft 'paper or thelike wound around a mandrel; I

Fig. 3 is a side elevational and sectional view showing the initiationof the operation of molding the end of the shell into an outwardlyflared flange;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the manner in which the outwardlyflared flange is molded;

Fig.- 5 is a partially elevational and partially sectional view showinga fibre shell having a metal head applied, but not attached, andillustrating one type of apparatus which may be employed for attachingthe closure to the shell;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line6-6 of Fig. 5;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9' are detailed sectional views illustrating successivesteps in the spinning operation in attaching the metal closure to. thefibre shell;

Fig. 10 is'a similar view at the conclusion of the spinning operation;

Fig. 11 illustrates a further step which may be employed in flatteningthe bead or rim of the metal closure; and;

Fig. 12 is a detailed view of the end portion of the shell and metalclosure illustrating a modifled attachment thereof.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated a typical fibre drum or containeremploying my invention. Thus the drum consists of a fibre shell Illhaving a metal 'head or closure l I attached thereto in accordance withmy invention.

A suitable seal made of fibre, fabric, paper, thermoplastic film or thelike may be provided over the inner surface of the metal closure II asindicated at I2. The seal may be secured to the inner surface of theclosure or maybe free from attachment thereto but the peripheral edgesof the seal are preferably interengaged with the shell and the closurearound the attaching bead The shell I 0 maybe lined or unlined or may becoated with a suitable waterproof synthetic resin or thermoplasticmaterial. The fibre shell is of a well-known type and is made fromlaminated layers of fibre as, for instance, kraft paper which are woundaround a mandrel with adhesive applied to the successive layers. Thus,in Fig. 2, I have shown a web 13 of kraft paper being wound M ofcylindrical the roller 22.

shape. The web 13 has been previously coated with a suitable adhesive ofa liquid or semi-liquid type such as casein glue or synthetic resins. Inthis way, a laminated tube consisting of convolutely wound layers ofkraft paper or fibre is provided.

The method of winding a fibre shell of this type is well-known and doesnot form the subject matter of the present invention. Any desired numberof layers may be wound in this manner depending upon the strength of theshell wall desired. If desired, a layer of waterproof material may bewound into an intermediate portion of the shell wall.

After the tubular shell has been Wound in this manner, it is removed, inthe usual manner, from one end of the mandrel. Before the adhesive hasset and while the laminated shell structure is still moist, I have foundthat it is moldable and workable. While the shell is still in thismoldable or workable condition I mold the end portion thereof into anoutwardly flared flange such as illustrated at IS in Fig. 5.

The molding takes place under pressure and in a manner to prevent freeseparation of the layers of the lamination and so as to preserve theunitary cohesive character of the shell wall;

This may be accomplished by pressure rollers l6 and I! of the typeembodied in the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in which the rollersare provided with convexly and concavely formed end portions l8 and I9respectively. Roller IE is mounted on shaft 20 and the roller l'i uponshaft 2!. The shaft 20 and roller 16 are so -mounted as to be shiftabletowards and away from the shaft 2|.

In carrying out my method a laminated fibre shell H], which has justbeenwound or formed and is in moist, workable and moldable condition, isplaced over the shaft 2! with one end thereof resting on roller lladjacent, but just short of, the concave portion IS; The shaft is thenset into operation so that the shaft and roller l! rotate causing theshell to rotate about the roller. Shaft 20 is then shifted towards shaft21' causing roller 16 to engage and exert pressure against the end ofthe shell 18. Simultaneously, the shell It is fed towards the left asviewed in Figs. 3 and 4 causing the extreme end of the shell to be fedupwardly between the convex and concave portions i8 and IQ of therespective rollers. The convex-concave portions of the rollers serve tomold the shell under pressure into the small outwardly flared flange l5.

The feeding of the shell l9 towards the left so as to be molded in thisfashion may be accomplished manually or automatically as by means of theapparatus illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, it will be seen thatspaced from the roller ii on the shaft 2! I provide another roller 22.Also, mounted on the shaft 2! but free to slide thereon is the pressuredisc 23 which is pressed by helical spring 24 against Disc 23 isprovided with a feed cam in the form of a peripheral radius 25 facingtowards roller ll. The apparatus is so proportioned in size that whenthe shell is placed over shaft 21 with the one end resting on roller l1adjacent but just short of the concave portion of the roller theopposite end of the shell will rest upon radius 25. A pressure roller 26is also mounted on shaft 20 a spaced distance from roller Hi.

When shaft 20 is shifted towards shaft 2|, roller flared rotate.

2B exerts pressure against the Wall of shell I with the result that theshell will be pushed downwardly along cam radius 25 of pressure disc 23.This combined with the action of sprin 24 causes the shell to feedinwardly towards the convex and concave portions of the rollers 15 and[1.

The rollers are so proportioned in size and shape that the moldingoperation in forming the flared flange is accomplished under pressure sothat the laminated layers are simultaneously molded and compressed andretained against separation.

When the flared flange has thus been formed the shaft 2|! is shiftedaway from 2| and the shell removed from the apparatus. Thereafter, whilethe shell is still in its moist, workable and moldable condition a metalclosure is seamed into interlocked engagement with the flared flange onthe shell. This operation may be accomplished by a spinning or otherforming operation as, for instance, by means of the apparatus shown inFigs. 5-11.

As the first step in this operation the head ll preferably with an innerseal l2, of the typ previously described, is applied to the flared endof the shell. The closure l l takes the form of a metal discapproximately equal in diameter to the internal diameter of the shell, acylindrical collar portion 21 around the disc portion and a peripheralflange 28 which rests on and projects slightly beyond the flared flangel5 of the shell. While the shell is still moist and in workable,moldable condition the flange 28 of the closure together with theperipheral edge of the seal are formed or bent downwardly into beaded orseamed interengagement with the flared end of the shell.

The beaded or seamed interengagement is conveniently accomplished bymeans of a spinning operation and any suitable apparatus for car.- ryingout this operation may be utilized. Such apparatus is shown in Figs. 5to 11 and may consist of a rotatable idling disc 29 suitably mounted forrotation in a support 30 and provided with circular grooves 3! in theupper face thereof of a size to accommodate the rims of shells ofvarying sizes. Spaced vertically from the idling disc 29 is a disc 32forming the drive rotor which is suit ably mounted on a drive shaft 33journaled in a bracket 34. Disc 32 should be of a size to rather snuglyfit inside the collar.21 of metal head H and rest against the centralportion thereof.

The disc 29 and its mounting 30 are arranged so as to be shiftabletowards and away from the disc 32. In this manner the disc 29 is shiftedaway from disc 32 and a flared shell 10 is placed in inverted positionin one of the grooves 3| on the disc 29 with the metal head II and seall2 applied to the flared end thereof. The disc 29 and support 30 arethen shifted upwardly until the drive rotor or disc 32 engages the metalhead. The drive rotor or disc 32 is then rotated causing the entireassembly of shell, head and seal to A suitable spinning die or tool maythen be brought into contact with the projecting flange of the metalhead 50 as to seam the flange, seal and the flared end of the shell intoa beaded interlocked engagement.

A suitable die or tool for accomplishing this purpose is illustrated at35 in Figs. 5 and 7-10 inclusive and takes the form of an idling rotorjournaled in a bracket 36 which may be shifted towards and away from thedrive disc 32 and the upper portion of the shell and flange of the headassociated therewith. The rotor is made of a suitable hard metal suchassteel and is provided with a concave groove 31 having the approximateconformation of the bead desired to be formed thereby. The flange 38 atthe upper end of groove 31 preferably projects beyond the flange 39 atthe lower end so as to overlap the top of the beading as it is beingformed.

In the operation the shell, head and seal assembly are set into rotationby drive disc 32 and therspinning die 35 is shifted into engagement withthe projecting flange 28 of the head gradually bending and beading itover as shown in Figs. '7 and 8. Thereafter as shown in Figs. 9 and 10the spinning die causes the peripheral edge of the seal and the flangeof the head to interlock with the flared end of the shell and the flaredend of the shell is further molded into a beading interlocked with thebeaded edge of the seal and head. This beading is illustrated at 40 inFigs. 1 and 10.

Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus is discontinued, the shellremoved therefrom and the upper end of the shell may be formed andfinished in any desired manner so as to receive a removable head orclosure.

When the adhesive sets and the shell hardens it will be seen thattheshell wall is a cohesive, unitary structure, that the beading 4D isintegral therewith and is likewise a cohesive unitary structure freefrom separation into its several laminations, and that it has beenmolded into interlocked, seamed or beaded engagement with the sealandhead. Due to the molding under pressure of the fibre, the fibre inthe beading is more compact and dense than the fibre in the body of theshell.

When completed in this manner the beading 40 projects slightly beyondthe periphery of the body of the shell as shown in Figs. 1 and 10. Priorto the time that the adhesive has set, the beading may be flattenedagainst the side of the shell so as not to project beyond the peripherythereof. This may be conveniently accomplished immediately after thebeading and seaming operation by means of another spinning tool or dieassociated with the same apparatus. Thus referring to Figs. 5 and 11 itwill be seen that I have provided a rotor 4| journaled in a bracket 42so as to be shiftable towards and away from the drive disc 32 and theshell and the shell assembly associated therewith. This rotoris providedwith a substantially flat or slightly concave groove 43.

After the conclusion of the seaming and beading operation rotor 4| isshifted into engagement with the beading, with the result that it isflattened against the side of the shell as shown at 44 in Fig. 11. Thioperation, of course, causes a further compression or molding of theshell structure adjacent the beading but since the shell is still moistand in moldable and workable condition the cohesive and unitarycharacter of the shell wallis preserved. After the conclusion of theoperation illustrated in Fig. 11 the shell assembly is removed from theapparatus, the upper end thereof formed and finished, as previouslyexplained, and the shell wall and adhesive is permitted to set.

An alternate method for accomplishing the same result is shown in Fig.12 where the end of the shell wall It is illustrated as offset inwardlyat 45. This is-accomplished in a well-known manner prior to the flaringand beading operations. After the shell wall 45 has been offset inwardlywith the shell in moist workable and moldable condition, the succeedingflaring and beading operations are accomplished in the same manner aspreviously described.

As previously stated the seal l2 may be made of thermoplastic film and Ihave found that satisfactory results are obtained by making the seal ofa sheet of polyethylene resin. Also, the inside of the container in eachform of my invention may be coated with similar thermoplastic materialsuch as polyethylene resin. After the completion of the container theseal I2 and the thermoplastic coating on the inside of the shell may beheat fused together forming a tight sealed connection which iswaterproof and substantially gas proof. Polyethylene resin has theadditional advantage of being resistant to many chemicals including mostacids.

The containers embodying my invention and made as described andillustrated herein overcome the prior difiiculties and are in the formof fibre shells having metal heads in which the shell structure is freefrom separation into its several laminations and is cohesive and unitaryin character and is molded or formed into beaded interengagement withthe metal head without the disturbance of this unitary cohesivecharacter. The resultant shell is a sturdy construction, is relativelysimple and inexpensive to manufacture and may be produced by massproduction methods. The shell may be provided with a lining in the formof separate sheet material or may be coated with a suitablethermoplastic resin. As previously stated the shell wall may haveincorporated therein a layer of waterproof or airproof material.Modifications may of course be made in the. illustrated and describedembodiment of my invention without departing from the invention as setforth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making fibre containers having metal closures whichcomprises: first providing a tubular shell made of layers of fibrousmaterial laminated together by a liquid-containing adhesive, saidadhesive being still moist and the shell being moldable; then, whilestill in moldable condition, molding an end portion of the shell undercompressive force applied to both surfaces thereof into an outwardlyflared flange of cohesive, unitary construction; next applying to theflared end of the shell a unitary metal closure having an integralperipheral flange projecting beyond the flared flange of the shell withthe flange of the closure resting on the flange of the shell; thenrolling the flange of the closure downwardly over the flange of theshell; and finally, while the shell is still in moldable condition,simultaneously forming the flange of the closure and molding the flaredflange of the shell into interlocked beaded engagement with each other,with the metal beading surrounding the fibre beading, thereby providinga cohesive, unitary fibre shell with a metal closure interlockedtherewith.

2. The method of making fibre containers having metal closures whichcomprises: first forming a tubular shell from layers of fibrous materiallaminated together by a liquid-containing adhesive; then, prior to thesetting of the adhesive and while the shell is still moist and moldable,molding an end portion of the shell under compressive force, applied 'toboth surfaces thereof, into an outwardly flared flange of unitary andcohesive construction; next applying to the flared 7 end of the shell aunitary metal closure having an integral peripheral flange projectingbeyond the flared flange of the shell with the flange of the closureresting on the flange of the shell; then rolling the flange of theclosure downwardly over the flange of the shell; and finally, while theshell is still in moldable condition, simultaneously forming the flangeof the closure and molding the flared flange of the shell intointerlocked beaded engagement with each other, with the metal beadingsurrounding the fibre beading, thereby providing a cohesive, unitaryfibre shell with a metal closure interlocked therewith.

HERBERT L. CARPENTER.

8, References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date Hulbert June 29, 1926 Hulbert June 29, 1926 Hamilton eta1 Sept. 9, 1947 Jackson Nov. 30, 1948 Coyle Dec. 7, 1948 Kinney Feb. 1,1949 Beattie 1 Apr. 12, 1949 Priest Dec. 27, 1949,

